Crimean Tatar activists have been asked to receive up to 21 years in prison in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case.

The prosecutor's office has requested 17 to 21 years in prison for the Crimean Tatars implicated in the so-called "third Dzhankoy group." This was announced at a hearing in the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don.

The prosecution has requested the longest sentence – 21 years in prison – for former imam Remzi Kurtnezirov. He is accused of organizing the activities of the Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in Russia, and preparing for the violent seizure of power.

The prosecutor's office has requested 17 to 18 years in prison for the other defendants in the case – Vohid Mustafayev, Nariman Ametov, Ali Mamutov, and Enver Khalilayev. Investigators consider them members of Hizb ut-Tahrir and claim they were plotting to seize power.

All defendants deny their guilt. They claim they were pressured by investigators and that banned literature was planted on them during searches.

The defense also questioned the testimony of a secret witness for the prosecution. According to the lawyers, the witness claimed to have previously been a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, but was unable to name the people he allegedly knew from the organization and was confused about the details.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has been designated a terrorist organization in Russia since 2003. However, the movement is not banned and operates legally in many countries around the world.

Human rights activists and Crimean Tatar activists have been calling such cases politically motivated for many years. They believe terrorism charges are used as a tool to pressure Crimean Tatars who oppose Russian policy in Crimea and participate in civic activism on the peninsula.

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